Ruveneska: The Scavenge, Chapter 5: Dragons

by Darro C.

There was a large crowd in the Grand Hall. Apparently, they were all there to say goodbye to Shuren and his group. Shuren made his way through the pack of nearly crying Zelzes to where Thegor, Blayger, Karoline, Rollan and Lloyd stood with all of their bags. Shuren walked over and stood with them. They were standing on the edge of the Grand Hall between two pillars.

Shuren then realized that they were not the only groups there. All along the side the edge of the Grand Hall stood other groups who were also departing. Everyone, including people in the crowd, had their bags packed and ready. Shuren now felt sorrow, he hated goodbyes.

Another group was talking to them. They consisted of Strata, Wresta, Linkouz, Zeal, Nina, Niance, Athar, Morphin, Dijek, Ajek and Rojan.

“So you guys are going to escort everyone back to Veryala then?” Shuren asked. They all nodded. “Take care of them, please.” Shuren said, with all honesty.
“Don’t worry, we can take care of them, it’s you that we’re worried about,” Linkouz said. “They will target you more than us.”

Niance came up and hugged Shuren, “Remember, concentrate on being healed.” Shuren laughed.

Lloyd and Shuren shook hands with the Grundells. “Make sure that you guys take care of them. Us Grundells are in charge for protecting them.”

Karoline talked to the Ingles. “Make you sure you lead everyone with the Grundells, they are strong, as we are.”

Thegor and Blayger talked to the remaining Zelzes. “Make you guys take care of them, we Zelzes and Dragons are the fiercest in the land.”

After everyone had their goodbyes they all gathered back to their original areas. The sun was now beginning to set. Like before, the sky was lit by the half-orange circle. The horizon was a flaming red and the sky above him was the same strange lavender that morning.

“So what are we going to do?” Shuren asked Rollan.

Rollan unrolled a map of Oryk. Shuren noticed a line going down the east side of the map. It begin in Aela-Doria, it traveled south-west, on the right side of the Laleroth. The line followed through Nobracia, Nesret, Dragornia, Haier, crossed the Rocdom River, went through Kyladin, and ended in Hogony. “This is our route. We will make stops at most of these cities. If I am correct, than they have yet to be recruited by Garland. It is far away from Lekay, which is where most Ingles live.” Shuren nodded.

“Are you guys ready?” Thegor asked. Everyone nodded. “Okay then,” he said. He said, “Rissam, argeta mero!”

Blayger raised his hand and shouted, “Naran, argeta mero!” Rissam and Naran gently landed beside them in an instant. They were wearing saddles they had pockets on the sides to place the bags.

Shuren walked up to Rissam and lifted up his bags. Before he could placed them in, Lloyd stopped him.

“What is it Lloyd?” Shuren turned around as he placed his bags on the floor. Rollan mounted on Rissam with Thegor. Karoline sat on Naran along with Blayger.

Lloyd smiled. “I want to show you something.” Shuren was puzzled. Lloyd turned around and faced the sky. He raised his right hand in the air and shouted, “Cirles, argeta mero!” Shuren was now more confused than before. Everyone stared with mild curiosity. It was very strange to see a Grundell call for a Dragon.

Suddenly, with a great roar and gust of wind, a golden-red scaled Dragon landed beside Lloyd. Every Zelze in the room jumped back startled. They seemed to have been scared. Shuren, was dumbfounded, his jaw was hanging wide open. Lloyd patted the neck of the Dragon, it too wore a saddle with pockets.

“Um, L-Lloyd, do mind explaining this?” Shuren asked as he took steps backwards. Shuren remembered, it was the exact same Dragon that attacked him on his quest to save Rollan before being saved by Karoline. It was also the same Dragon that Zelzor rode.

“I’ll explain on the ride.” Lloyd said as he filled it’s pockets with his bags. Lloyd grabbed Shuren’s bags on loaded them also. Shuren was still frightened, and so was the rest of the crowd. He now noticed that the crowd was frightened.

“T-This is the Dragon that attacked you Shuren?” Dijek asked. Shuren nodded. The Ingles laughed at the irony.

“This is The Demon Dragon of Oryk!” Morphin bellowed. Shuren wondered how Lloyd, a Grundell, was able to tame the one Dragon that was untamable by the Zelzes.

“Lord Zelzor trained me to tame Cirles. He is very friendly,” Lloyd explained. The crowd began to feel slightly at east.

Shuren approached the Dragon slowly. “Hello, um, Cirles.” Shuren slowly lifted his hand and patted the Demon Dragon’s neck. It lowered his head for Shuren. Shuren smiled.

“Well then, let’s get riding.” Lloyd said as he mounted on Cirles. Shuren apprehensively sat on the saddle.

“Lloyd, are you sure that you can ride him?” Shuren asked uneasily.

“Cirles and I are great pals, isn’t that right?” Lloyd said. Cirles let out a roar as he took flight. Rissam and Naran also took flight. Ten more Dragons took flight throughout the Grand Hall.

Shuren turned and faced towards the crowd. “Farewell everyone! Please, take care of each other! We will win this war, for Zelzor!” The crowd cheered and everyone waved goodbye.

Cirles soared into the sky with Naran and Rissam behind. The ten other Dragons went in different directions with their groups. Cirles veered off towards the setting sun’s direction; west.

They soared through the air with intensity. Air rushed past them and so did the land beneath them. Shuren relaxed, it was very peaceful for some odd reason. This was one thing that took his mind off of Catalina. They had a perfect view of the radiant sunset, as they were high in the air, traveling towards it.

Shuren looked at the ground below in the valley. Shuren noticed a large crumbled rock on the floor with shards of something shiny. Shuren studied it closer and realized that it was the balcony that he threw from the mountain. He chuckled. Shuren tapped Lloyd on the shoulder and pointed to the balcony. Lloyd let out a big laugh.

“So Lloyd explain this Dragon thing to me,” Shuren said out in the open.

Lloyd laughed again. “Remember during your training, those days that Zelzor and I were not present?” Lloyd asked.

Shuren remembered a few months ago, searching for Zelzor but not finding him. When he couldn’t find him, he searched for Lloyd, but instead trained with Athar for the day. “Yeah, I remember.”

“Well those days, Lord Zelzor took me to Cirles’s cave. That’s where I met him. He said that I had some sort of special power. My parents were both Grundells, I have no Zelze blood in me, but for some reason, he said I had the aura of a Zelze. He and Master Athar trained me to speak Zelze, and after time my friendship with Cirles grew. I was able to ride and do archery from the skies with him. It’s almost as if he knows what I want, and he’ll go there.”

Shuren smiled, “Wow that’s amazing. It so ironic that I’m riding the very Dragon that attacked a year ago. Though, if it weren’t for him, then I would never have met Karoline, and in chain reaction, any of you guys.”

“Dragons are fascinating, especially how they’re non-magical creatures.” Lloyd said.

Shuren was shocked. “They’re non-magical?” Shuren asked. This was hard to believe by the fact that they could fly and breath fire.

“Yeah of course,” Lloyd said.

“Then How do they fly and breath fire? It doesn’t seem logical without any magic,” Shuren replied.

“Okay I’ll explain it to you. This is going to be a long trip so we have time.” Cirles suddenly began to arc its body sideways. Shuren held on to the saddle as Cirles turned right. The sun was no longer up and it was dark. They were now traveling south. Behind them, Shuren see the Esacni River that wrapped around Aela-Doria.

“All Dragons have the same way of digesting their food. Instead of waste, the remains of their food gets broken down into a certain chemical that is stored throughout their body. This chemical it lighter than the air we breath, which causes them to fly in the air. Their bones are very strong, yet light. Their wings are used for propelling and steering.” Lloyd explained slowly. He took a deep breath, Shuren could tell he wasn’t finished yet.

“Now as for fire breathing, it’s also science. The chemical in their bodies is highly reactant to their saliva. They have tubes that lead from their bodies in their mouths. At anytime, they can breath out that chemical, it will react with their saliva, causing a flame to burst. That is how they breath fire. As for the colors of the flames, it all depends on the Dragon. Every Dragon is capable of breathing normal red fire, because it is the first type they learn when they are young. Most Dragons can only breath fire the color of their scales other than red fire, but Cirles here is different. His flames can become black, it is twice as hot as a blue flame, and can melt a sword in an instant. Though it takes a lot more of their energy.”

Shuren noticed that they were loosing altitude. “Amazing, so they have to eat a lot don’t they?” Shuren asked as they began to land. Lloyd nodded. The three Dragons landed softly in beside a small forest.

“This is where we will be staying tonight,” Rollan said as he unloaded most of his things. They set up a few tents in a circle, everyone had there own. In the middle of the fire, Lloyd built a fire. He used Grundell spell for the fire not to cause smoke while Shuren set up a sound barrier around their campsite. The Dragons went out to hunt. Lloyd prepared a meal for everyone. He made a Porchlin stew, and as usual, it was delicious.

“So where are we now exactly?” Thegor asked. He finished his bowl of stew and drank water from his canteen.

Rollan pulled out the map again. He unrolled it and everyone gathered around. He pointed slightly below Nobracia. Shuren had not realized that they traveled that far in a short amount of time.

“That was quite a short amount of time,” Shuren said out loud.

They looked at Shuren weirdly. “We’ve been flying hours after sunset,” Blayger said suddenly. Everyone else laughed. Shuren must not have noticed since he was busy talking to Lloyd of Dragons. It was then when he began to feel tired.

“So what stops are we making and who is making them?” Karoline asked staring at the map. “I don’t think it would be wise to travel back to Nobracia. The nearest town after Nobracia is Nesret.”

“Yes I think we should make a stop there tomorrow if we have enough time. I think that it would be wise for Lloyd, Blayger, Thegor and I to go,” said Rollan. That left Shuren and Karoline to stay behind, Shuren felt uneasy with this, but said nothing. “They are a town of a lot shopping districts. Though they fear Ingles and may attack if they see Karoline.” Karoline frowned. “I know you have only good intentions, but they’ll attack before we can explain. They are vaguely familiar with Zelzes correct?” Rollan asked.

“Yes,” Blayger said, “We have come to trade with them before, they should not be too alarmed with us.”

“Us Grundells have also traveled their a few times before so I think we should be fine,” Lloyd said.

“Then it is settled, if we can travel far tomorrow, than we will visit Nesret.” Rollan said. “Let us get some rest.” Everyone nodded and walked into their tents. Shuren trudged inside his own, rubbing his eyes from exhaustion. He plumped his body down on his soft blanket and did not bother to get undressed. Within moments, Shuren was sound asleep.

* * *

Almost immediately the next morning, they packed up. Lloyd was up very early, cooking a quick breakfast for everyone. He fried Porchlin eggs and made a dark thick liquid with it. Even Shuren was afraid to eat it. Though they had to be quick, so everyone ate. To their surprise, and yet not, it was delicious.

They flew a little bit lower this time, to make sure that they weren’t spotted. Shuren said nothing the entire trip, Lloyd knew exactly why. Shuren could not get his mind off of Catalina. He felt so helpless, he didn’t know where she was, and how to get there. Shuren nearly spent the entire trip blaming himself for her capture.

It was past noon when they landed. Cirles did a stomp landing, causing Shuren pain. Lloyd jumped off and unpacked, while Shuren fell to the floor. He stayed there until the aching had left enough for him to stand. He then removed his bags and sat them down.

“Okay now, us four will fly over to Nesret. We must get the necessities first, such as food and fresh water. Is there anything you want?” Rollan asked Shuren and Karoline.

Karoline handed them a bag of kindos, “Can you buy me some Pumleberry Juice?”

Pumleberry juice was delicious. Shuren was only able to try it once, but he remembered the taste. Sweet, tangy and addicting. Shuren also handed them a bag of kindos, “Can you buy me the same thing? Use all of those kindos on as many as you can find.”

Lloyd laughed as he accepted the bag. Thegor, Blayger, Rollan and Lloyd mounted on Rissam and Naran. “Cirles will stay with you guys,” Lloyd said before taking off. They shot off in a puff of smoke and was out if sight within minutes. Shuren could not believe that was how rapid they were traveling.

Shuren was left alone with Karoline. He had mixed feelings. He wanted to be with her, but felt guilty about it. Shuren turned away for a moment, trying to think of something to say. Before he could speak, Karoline spoke.

“Do you have any water left?” she asked randomly. Shuren was puzzled, though he pulled out his canteen and shook. Nothing but air filled shook inside. Karoline sighed, she was also out of water. “There is a large lake west of here, we can go fill up with water there, it should not take that long.”

“I’ll go,” Shuren said abruptly. He was desperate to shake off his feeling. He did not want to feel this guilt. His only solution was to stay away from Karoline for a while. Before she could reply, he grabbed her canteen and ran off. Karoline was left speechless.

Shuren ran for a few minutes, until he could no longer see Karoline behind him. He held his canteen and hers in his other hand. “What is wrong with me? I can’t even talk to Karoline . . .” he thought to himself. He shook off the thought of Catalina and thought of Karoline. Their journey together was fun. Shuren knew Karoline for more than a year now, and Catalina only a few months. There was something about Karoline that was different than Catalina. He wasn’t quite sure, but it made a huge difference.

Shuren didn’t keep track of time. He had no idea how long he had been walking when he saw an enormous lake in the distance. The water was crystal blue and appeared refreshing. Shuren hurried his way to the waters before him. The sun’s heat was unbearable.

Shuren reached the shore of the lake quickly. He kneeled down and drank some water. Shuren filled his hands with water and splashed his face. It was cool and uplifting.

He stared at his reflection. He looked a lot older than he did back in Hogony. It has been more than a year since he actually looked at himself. His hair was now past his chin, and the whiteness was only a few inches away from reaching the tip of his hair.

Shuren saw something change in the water. He studied it closely. It wasn‘t the water, it was the sky behind his face in the reflection. It seemed darker. Shuren gasped, he turned around and looked at the sky, it was certainly dark. “Karoline . . .” Shuren whispered. He got up and around to run.

Before he could, smoke rose from the ground. There was a black bolt of lighting. A single Mawbryn stood before Shuren. He was tall and slender, his build was different from the one who took Catalina. It was not him.

“Where is she?” Shuren screamed. He raised his arms, ready to attack with magic. He had already focused is energy.
“I’m going to ignore that question,” the man said. The smoke slowly disappeared as the Mawbryn walked closer.

Shuren jerked is arms in an attacking motion. Before he cast a spell, the man raised one hand to signal him to stop.

“Please, no magic, I’m not here to fight you.” He unbuckled the sword that hung from his hip and threw it aside. “See, I am unarmed.” Shuren levitated the sword to his own hands. “My my, what a neat trick that is. It must be something Zelzor taught you, a little Ruven magic.”

“What do you want?” Shuren demanded. He placed his right hand on the handle and the other on the sheath. Shuren was ready to unsheathe it.

The man pulled down his hood, to reveal a long and slender face. His hair was black, short and spiky. He had eyes capable of penetrating a steel wall. Shuren studied him closer, it was not and Ingle, but a Grundell! “You‘re a Grundell! But why are you with him?” Shuren asked perplexed.

The man smiled devilishly. “My name is Lyath,” he bowed to Shuren, “What an honor it is to finally meet you, Sir Ruven. I just wanted to make sure that you are alive and well.”

“Where is she? What did you do with her?” Shuren screamed. Shuren cleanly pulled out the blade from it’s pocket. It was a long sword made of some foreign metal. On one side was a rigid cutting blade, on the other side was a sharp slicing blade. When Shuren pulled it out completely, he found that there was no point. It had a straight tip.

“Now what makes you think we have this her that you are talking about?” Lyath asked, slightly irritated.

“Because I saw one of you take her!” Shuren yelled.

“Ha! As if the Lord-”

“To hell with your lord!” Shuren cried with rage.

Lyath seemed taken aback for a moment. Then he smiled, and laughed. “Ironically, it’s quite the opposite.” Smoke began to rise from the ground. “If you want her alive, then you will speak of this little meeting to no one!” He said as a black bolt of lighting struck the ground. As soon as he appeared he disappeared. Even the sword in his hand disappeared along with him.

Shuren took a deep breath. She was still alive, now it was up to Shuren to keep it that way. He could not tell anyone about this. He quickly filled up the canteens and hurried back to camp.

When Shuren arrived, he saw all of the tents all ready set up. He feared that all would been back already. If so, then they must have seen the sky darken. He crept up into camp, but heard no one. He looked around and found no sign of anyone. Cirles was also gone. “Karoline?” Shuren called out. There was no reply. She was not in sight. He studied the tents, Karoline must have put them up. Shuren saw her tent, the color of it was too dark to see inside. There was no door to knock on. He had no choice but to just walk in.

Karoline was asleep. Her luscious brown hair was let down for once. She was even beautiful when she slept. She had a slow breathing paste that brought peace to Shuren. He could not help but stare. She was wearing the same underclothing that she wore when they traveled to go rescue Rollan. A brown vest that hung just below her chest. Short black leggings that revealed her long legs.

Shuren no longer felt the need to stay away from her, but the want to be with her. Her hand was on her stomach and the other one was clutching a book. Shuren studied it closely. The book was entitled Summer Love by Nanye Cirle. It was a romance novel! Shuren had no idea that Karoline was into romance.

Shuren remembered reading a biography about Nanye Cirle in Hogony. She was an elderly Gippy and a brilliant romance author. She became famous for writing romance novels during the Gippy and Grundell war. Shortly after the war was over, she died of old age.

Shuren smiled, she was not as stubborn as he thought she was. Everyone likes a little romance, including Karoline. This enlightened Shuren. He turned around and began to crawl out of the tent. Just before he left he heard Karoline’s voice.

“Shuren?” Karoline spoke softly. Her voice was so beautiful that it sounded as if she were singing. Shuren was stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t know what to do. He slowly turned around with his eyes closed. He opened them to see the same sleeping Karoline. Her eyes were completely shut. “Don’t leave . . .” she said. Her eyes were still shut. She was talking about Shuren in her sleep!

Shuren sighed with relief, she was not awake yet. Shuren regrets the sigh as soon as it is out of his mouth. Karoline took a deep breath and began to move. She opened her eyes and looked in different directions. She was now awake. Shuren gritted his teeth. Karoline stared at Shuren, not sure whether or not it was a dream, it wasn’t.

“Shuren! What are you doing in here?” Karoline asked, surprised, almost with a pout.

“Uh-um,” Shuren stuttered, “I was looking for you, to give you . . .” he reached for her canteen and handed it to her, hoping that she would buy it. She reached out and took the canteen. “I’m sorry that I woke you up.”

She shook her head, her hair waved gently with her movements. “No it’s fine, I wasn’t planning on falling sleep. I was just reading and I must have dozed off.”

Shuren felt relieved again. “So what were you reading?” Shuren said, as if he didn’t know. He sat down in front of Karoline.

She looked apprehensive to tell Shuren, but she did so anyway. “Summer Love, I found it back in Aela-Doria.”

“Oh, from the secret library,” Shuren said. Karoline giggled. She had just waken up, and Shuren was still struck by her. She sat up to face Shuren. Her hair was still let down. It had small streaks of blonde and it hung past her shoulders.

“Yeah, it’s been such a long time since I have read any stories. I’ve forgotten how much peace simple reading could bring.” Karoline said smiling.

“So romance is your selection choice?” Shuren asked with a smirk.

This question startled her. She did not know what to say. After a few moments, she said, “Yeah, I suppose so.”

“Well my choice is adventure. It’s so embracing.” Shuren explained. He couldn’t think of anything else to say about it.

“Well you’re living the adventure, romance, on the other hand . . .” Karoline said.

“Well, it happens,” Shuren said, not sure of how to reply to her. It was true, Shuren was living the adventure, an adventure he never asked for. As for romance . . .

“Well I’m sure you’ve lived that part also.” Karoline said.

This stuck Shuren in the heart. He knew that she meant Catalina. Though, for some reason, Shuren didn’t consider that romance. He couldn’t describe his feelings for Catalina as romantic. As for Karoline, it was a different story. He thought of the sunsets that he spent with her, those times were romantic. “I’m sure you have too. Sunsets are very romantic,” Shuren said slyly.

Karoline was speechless. She looked Shuren in the eyes, it seemed that she couldn’t breath. They had a sharp long session of staring. They were lost in each other’s eyes. Karoline cracked a smile.

There was a loud thump outside. It caused them to look away from each other. They heard footsteps outside. Shuren quickly got up and began to crawl outside when he heard Lloyd’s voice.

“Shuren? Karoline?” Lloyd called out. Just then, Shuren crawled out of Karoline’s tent. Lloyd seemed baffled when he saw Shuren. When Karoline crawled out behind him from the same tent is when Lloyd was really bewildered. He ignored it.

Lloyd was carrying two large jugs of red liquid. Shuren and Karoline smiled. They were jugs of Pumleberry Juice. Lloyd handed one to each of them. Rollan was carrying a sack of six loaves of bread stuck out. Blayger carried a large sack of fruits, Rascleberries and Green Citrus Tomplins where visible. Thegor only carried a jug water and a sack of vegetables. On the ground next to Lloyd sat two sacks. One was filled with small bottles of spices. The other was filled with bags of different meats.

Shuren sat down on a log and opened the jug of juice. He poured the sweet tangy red juice down his throat, it tasted just like how he remembered. After his thirst was quenched, he closed the jug and set it aside. He looked around and saw that all three Dragons had returned and the sun was beginning to fall behind the horizon.

“So what are we going to do now?” Shuren asked.

Rollan sat down and unloaded some of his belongings. “We will stay here the night. We shall relax now and let the Dragons rest and eat. Tomorrow, we will continue to fly until the sun begins to set. We will leave early in the morning.” Rollan pulled out a loaf of bread and handed it to Lloyd. “Shuren, I want you to come with me.”

Without hesitation, Shuren followed Rollan. Rollan walked towards the lake that Shuren was at earlier that day. Rollan said nothing as he led Shuren. When Shuren could no longer take the silence he asked something.

“Rollan, what are we going to do?” Shuren asked. He was hoping that Rollan did not see the sky grow dark earlier that day.

“We, Shuren, are going to train. I will finish what your master began.” Rollan explained.

Shuren smiled. He was about to finally become a pupil of The Rollan Canona. “What will you be training me, magic?” Shuren assumed.

“Yes and no. I am going to teach you not the magic itself, but a different way to use the magic you already know.” Rollan explained. This confused Shuren quite a bit. Shuren already knew how to use the magic he knew, what other way could he use it?

After walking for quite a bit, they reached the lake. Rollan stopped without warning, almost causing Shuren to bump into Rollan. Rollan turned around to face Shuren. “This seems like a good spot.” He sat down on the ground. He signaled for Shuren to do so also.

Shuren sat down in front of Rollan. “So what are we going to do now? How else can I use my magic?”

“As you already know, you power to levitate is that only of a Ruven. Since I was one before, I can do it. Even though the power left, my ability to levitate items has not.” Rollan said. He lifted a rock with his energy and brought it over to them. He sat it next to them. “Shuren, I want you to break this rock apart.”

Shuren smiled. He raised his arm and point an open hand towards the rock, He closed it into a fist, and the rock crumbled together.

“No,” Rollan said, “I said break it a apart, not crush it.” Shuren was now confused. Rollan brought two more boulders over, about the size of a head. “Like this,” he said. He pointed a finger. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a small crack appeared and then the rock practically exploded. The rock literally broke apart and flew in different directions. One pebble nearly whacked Shuren. It was as if something inside the boulder forced it apart.

“How did you do that?” Shuren asked.

“It is simple. You know how to do the magic. Now you just need to use the magic. Simply force your energy inside of the boulder and break it apart from the inside out.” Rollan explained.

Shuren held out his hand and released energy. He tried to force it into the rock, but instead, he pushed the rock. “I couldn’t get into the rock, it only pushed it.”

“Remember Shuren, force your energy inside.” Rollan clarified. “First, make your energy sharp to pierce it, once it is inside, expand your energy.”

“Oh I see!” Shuren said. He actually understood it now. Instead of pointing his whole hand at the boulder, he point a finger. He made his energy as thing and sharp as possible. He shot it inside, causing the rock crack. Once he had enough energy inside. He opened his hand, causing the rock to mildly explode. “Ha, I did it!”

“Good, you’re a quick learner. It’s no wonder you’ve gotten so strong in a short amount of time,” Rollan said with a smile. Rollan found a few more rocks and brought them over. “Okay now, this is going to be a little bit harder.” Rollan lifted up two rocks. They both hovered in the air at the same height. Though one was content while the other looked as if it were going to fall. “Can you tell me the difference between these two boulders?”

Shuren pointed stated the obvious, “One’s perfectly still and the other one is wobbly.”

“Good, can you tell me why?” Rollan answered back. Shuren thought for a minute but couldn’t think of an answer, he shook his head. “Shuren, try lifting up a rock next to mine.”

Shuren levitated a rock just as Rollan instructed. It floated next to the wobbly one. Shuren’s was just as wobbly as Rollan’s. “Mine’s just as wobbly. Why?” Shuren said.

“That’s because of the way you are holding it up. The wobbly one that I have is being lifted from the bottom. In other words I have energy holding it up from the bottom, just like yours.” Rollan explained. Shuren nodded as he understood. “The other one that I am holding up is held differently. Instead of lifting from the bottom, I have energy inside of it, causing it to hover still.” Shuren continued to nod. “Try to force your energy inside and make it hover.”

Shuren pointed out his finger and shot a wave of energy inside the boulder. Shuren tried to lift the boulder, but instead, the top of the rock flew off. “That’s hard. How can you do that without making it break?”

“You have to spread your energy out evenly throughout the object, make sure that not one spot has more energy than the other.” Rollan explained. He’s already mastered this technique.

Shuren tried again on another rock. This time he spread it out as evenly as he could. It was hard to tell which part of the rock had more than the other. He forced all of the energy up, but it was a failed attempt. The top and the side of the rock flew off. “That’s really hard.” Shuren complained.

“It takes practice Shuren.” Rollan stood up. “I think we got a lot of training done today. Let’s head back to camp, they must be waiting for us.”

Shuren noticed that it was completely dark now. Shuren stood up. He would have to practice this technique non-stop to get it right. They began to walk back to camp. “So when are we going to train again.”

“We will train again when you can master this technique. That is when the next step in your training begins.” Rollan told him.

“So what if I need your help?” Shuren asked.

“I have already explained it all fully. There is nothing else I can tell you that will help you.” Rollan said.

Shuren sighed. Rollan definitely had different teaching styles as Lord Zelzor.
They reached the campsite where Lloyd prepared a wonderful meal. It was seasoned Wouk meat served with steamed herbs and a rascleberry pie. Lloyd was a magnificent cook.

They all ate until they could no longer hold anything in their stomachs. Shuren was even exhausted from eating. After eating, everyone sat and rested for a while.

“So we will travel non-stop tomorrow until the sun sets,” Thegor said. Everyone else agreed.

Shuren crawled into his tent and laid down. This time he got undressed. He thought about the Mawbryn earlier, Lyath. He was a Grundell, so why was he working for Garland? He wondered if he should tell Lloyd about this Grundell, but he did not dare after he remembered the man’s words. “If you want her alive, then you will speak of this little meeting to no one!” He was certainly not going to say anything. “At least she was still alive.” Shuren closed his eyes and fell asleep.